The present invention is related to the field of remote control devices.
Remotely controlled door opening and closing systems and door locking systems are known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,292 to Engelmann, U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,553 to Vergara, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,686 to Collier are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties for their teachings on remotely controlled door opening/closing systems; U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,034 to Khoury is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for its teachings on remotely controlled door locking systems.
People commonly drive away from their homes, unable to recall whether they closed or locked their door or garage door. As a result, they must either go back home to check the doors and locks, or risk theft and vandalism.
Improved systems are desired to provide better security.
The present invention is a remote control system and a method of using the system, using a state signal that indicates whether a door or lock is opening, open, closing or closed. The state signal (indicating whether a door or lock is opening, open, closing or closed) is transmitted. The remote control device receives the state signal, while the remote control device is proximate to the door or lock. The received state signal is stored in the remote control device. An alarm signal is generated if the state signal is not being received by the remote control device, and the stored state signal indicates that the door or lock is opening or open.